http://www.wired.com/2014/05/neil-hunt/ There are versions of this story at various points on the internet, and there are various questions that are being asked about it. I say that it's mostly a falacy to say that traditional TV will be "dead" though. Ten years is too short a time period for everyone to even get access to broadband, let alone be willing to convert from what they've known all of their lives. Between those of us who live in areas the providers ignore, and older people who want to stay with what they've always known, I think that traditional services will continue to survive out of necessity, even as newer media grows and gains in popularity.
Agree. It is still difficult for lots of rural people to find high speed internet, let alone fast enough internet for streaming.
2 things: 1. It says in ten years, so high speed availability should improve by then. 2. Doesn't really matter what the rural people want or will get. Traditional TV (like everything else) will only stick around if its profitable. If it comes down to only rural people without high speed internet wanting traditional TV service, then I doubt it will be all that profitable for the companies to keep going the way they have.
Ten years ago, when I moved in with my wife in our rural area after spending the previous decade living in cities (and having broadband in one form or another from 1998-2004), I was very optomistic that it wouldn't be that long before we got broadband like everyone else was. The phone company said just a few years before everyone could get DSL....Man was I wrong. It seems less likely today than it did back then. To the other point though, DirecTV has 15 million customers, myself included, many of them in rural areas where people cannot get access to cable or anything else. I doubt that they'll just fold up shop in the near future, even as the world changes around them.
WADR, that doesn't make a lot of sense. Direct TV's 15 million customers are not all rural. In fact, the majority of their customers are most likely in non rural areas. If enough people switch to cord cutting, DirectTV/Dish will suffer the same fate that standard cable companies do. FTR, I'm not predicting anything or saying this will happen like the article you posted. I'm simply saying that if it were to happen, don't assume rural areas will still get their traditional TV.
I'm not assuming anything, just thinking out loud. If we do lose access to all modern technology, maybe that will finally convince my wife to move
As in bold above, I have basically been told that all upgrades will center around the most highly populated areas, or cities. I have seen slight upgrades over the years, however the options are expensive and severely limited.
